Laugh or learn: Get in on free TV offers

A San Antonio filmmaker has produced a TV pilot and wants your feedback on it.

It is called “Shooters” and will be unveiled at a free screening 7:30 tonight at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The producer, Javier Garcia, said he hopes the exposure will help him to get the pilot picked up by a network. Here’s his summary of the plot:

The series centers around a group of guys in their mid to late twenties who hang out at a pool hall each week and joke about varying topics such as current events, girls, sex, sports, politics and the nuances of life. However, nothing is off limits. As they joke around and tell humorous stories, the scene cuts to skits dramatizing what the character or characters are talking about. The creative production is intended for mature and open-minded audiences.

He adds that the pilot is similar in style to what’s found on Dave Chappelle’s show on Comedy Central, “Mad TV” on Fox and “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.

Learn about digital TV transition

If you’re up for a more serious evening and still aren’t clear on the details of February’s digital TV conversion, make a date to attend the free how-to presented by ABC affiliate KSAT. The meeting happens at 7 p.m. in the food court at South Park Mall. KSAT managers and engineers will be on hand to answer any and all questions regarding the transition, and to help viewers receive their discount coupons for digital converter boxes.

“The town hall meeting will allow all viewers to talk with us one-on-one, and we’ll give them all the information they

need to be certain they can still receive free TV after February 17, 2009,” KSAT General Manager Jim Joslyn states in a press release. “The digital transition is so important to South Texans, as there are over 150,000 households who do not have sets connected to cable or satellite.”

Beginning at midnight February 17, all local television stations will be required to shut off their analog signal feed and begin broadcasting exclusively in digital. In this transition, viewers who watch broadcast TV using rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna are required to make changes so they can continue to receive free TV. A digital converter box connected to an antenna will give viewers a clear digital signal on any older television model.

The Federal Government is offering two $40 coupons to households that still depend on ‘over-the-air’ (i.e., not cable or satellite) television signals.

Local viewers who attend the KSAT town hall meeting at South Park Mall will be able to see how a box is connected, ask any questions, check on the status of their converter box discount coupon, apply online for a coupon or receive any other information.

KSAT also has placed a kiosk inside North Star Mall in an effort to dispel the myths as to what viewers must to do to catch all local channels after the digital switch.